<p>Is it necc to send Harvard a resume?</p>
<p>I just filled out the ones on common app but am unsure whether to send a resume or not..</p>
<p>it's late. Today is already like, Jan. 6...or 7... pass the deadline...</p>
<p>Nah, it's an "update", so the secretary at the admissions office will just add it to your file. You can still inform Harvard with any new details that could strengthen your candidacy until late February/early March.</p>
<p>if you can, you should send in a resume...it probably would reinforce your achievements. evil<em>asian</em>dictator is right...you can still send it in. </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>While sometimes a resume is good for summing up or elaborating on your achievements, it isn't totally necessary. I didn't feel like one was necessary, because I did a thorough job on my common app. I didn't send in a resume, and I still got in.</p>
<p>Best of luck with your application!</p>
<p>thanks God... at least am12388 didn't send a resume..</p>
<p>I don't think that a resume is necessary unless there is something that absolutely couldn't be explained on the Common App. For example, I am student-body VP, but in our school the Student Council/Student Govt. organization is called Leadership Council. I thought that I needed to explain what that was, but it's fairly self-explanatory, and I know that in my GC's letter of rec she mentioned it. I also used the Addtl. Info section for some explanations. </p>
<p>I chose to take the slight risk of someone misunderstanding for the sake of not being redundant.</p>
<p>i didn't send a resume, either and i'm a freshman here</p>
<p>I honestly don't see how you can get into Harvard without sending a resume unless you're a URM, legacy, recruited athlete, celebrity, first-generation, low income, national champ at something, etc.</p>
<p>Most applicants just can't put down "TOC National Champion" or "IMO Gold medal winner". which is basically all that Common Application box gives room for, and usually have local/regional/state awards that they need to explain in-depth in order to get their level of involvement and achievment across to admissions officers, who don't know anything beyond major national achievments.</p>
<p>Sending a resume to Harvard is like choosing to do the optional essay. Do it if you want to get in.</p>
<p>evil<em>asian</em>dictator- you should stop making uninformed, incorrect blanket statements. I asked around Harvard and no one I could find sent in a resume (I'm sure some people do, but my fairly small sample seems to indicate it's not a huge majority). I also know plenty of people who didn't do the optional essay.</p>
<p>Will it improve your chances? Maybe, I don't know. Part of the reason they put a limited number of spaces on the "extracurriculars" box is that they care more about the quality than the quantity of your extracurriculars. The reason there are only a few essays you're permitted to send in is that they want to know what's most important to you.</p>
<p>It varies from person to person- if someone truly can't fit all their important achivements on the application, then they should send an additional resume, yeah. But most people just don't have to, and contrary to popular belief, some of them get into Harvard to.</p>
<p>Yea, evil_dictator. If they don't ask for it, then you don't HAVE to. Believe it or not, the "optional" essay is actually optional. Many have gotten in without writing the optional essay. So really, stop making uninformed, incorrect, blank statements.</p>
<p>Of course, the optional essay isn't necessary to get in, but if you are one of those borderline cases, that might very well tip it in your favor. No harm doing all that you can now, instead of regretting it later.</p>
<p>For full disclosure, I am a legacy, but my family is not rich by any means, and I'm still certain that resumes are completely optional, as evidenced by many of the posts above.</p>
<p>Considering how unlikely anyone's chances of getting in are regardless of qualifications, one would assume that really dedicated applicants would do everything possible to stand out from the crowd whether this means having a detailed resume, including unique optional recommendation letters, using the optional essay to show a different side of themselves, or even playing up diverse ethnic backgrounds.</p>
<p>Apparently, some people are so good at life that they can do the ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM and still get admitted to Harvard. Well more power to your folk I suppose. Unfortunately, I don't belong to your superhuman breed so I have to actually do optional stuff in order to have a realistic chance of getting in.</p>
<p>That's life for you in a nutshell.</p>
<p>If they don't even mention a resume, why would you need it? Do they prefer insightful students who figure out random things by themselves? No. I think that's only an attempt to gain unfair advantage, or just show off.</p>
<p>I would like to challenge the notion that not sending in a resume is doing the "bare minimum" on an application. If you can convey the same information on your common app and with your teacher and counselor recs, then a resume isn't necessary. Although it can be a nice touch, and a way of elaborating on specific components of your application. </p>
<p>I worked very hard on my application, and to have my labor trivialized by calling it the "bare minimum" and me superhuman (which is far from the truth by the way) seems a little unfair.</p>
<p>I know you must be very stressed out about your app right now, and believe me, I can empathize. If you feel like you need to do a resume, go ahead and do it. Once again, good luck with your application.</p>
<p>Yeah, you don't need a resume. Or an option essay, for that matter. I had neither, and got in early. I talked to a coach, but I was in no way 'recruited.' An optional essay is good if you have something that you need to say that didn't come across. If you need to explain an activity, do it in the additional comments. Otherwise, I think it's a bit redundant.</p>
<p>Also, I think that people need to take into account how much time people spend reading the files. I thought seriously about sending a resume, but decided that I didn't want to waste anyone's time with pretty trivial explanations of my involvement in activities. I'm not saying that an adcom won't read the resume if it's in the file, but I don't know how closely they will read it. Also, I have no idea about this, but if somebody spends time reading a resume do you think they would spend less time looking at other things? That's probably totally ridiculous, but I'm just wondering.</p>
<p>i think (and please dont take anything i say to heart...i may be wrong) that admissions officers do indeed take the time to go over a resume with care. I know a Harvard grad student who used to be an Admissions Officer at Dartmouth and she said that the resume was the key thing for them to read if the applicant had one. I understand that there are places on the common app but if you are filling it out online there is no way that a full and satisfactory description of the activities you spent years on can fit in that tiny box. I strongly reccomend that you do indeed pick your top 7 however, because that shows a focus but i think still a resume is a great supplement to the overall file. Personally my scores and grades were not THAT impressive and my essays though good were certainly not mind-blowing, but rather I think the resume and the list of ECs made that important impression on the adcoms . i hope that helped and sorry for the long post!</p>